Holiday Sides

Whole-Berry Cranberry Sauce
makes approximately 2 cups

INGREDIENTS

1-12 ounce package of fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup orange juice
zest from ½ orange, minced
1 cup mandarin oranges or 1 cup chopped walnuts. Optional

DIRECTIONS

Rinse and dry cranberries. Add sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add cranberries and reduce heat to medium-low. Once the berries start to pop open, cook for an additional 4-6 minutes. Remove sauce pan from heat and let the sauce cool down. Right before serving, add mandarin oranges or chopped walnuts to offer a contract of textures in your sauce.

 

Candied Yams
serves 4

INGREDIENTS

4 sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into large chunks (hold in cold water)
3 Tablespoons butter
juice from 2 lemons
orange juice, to cover
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

Drain the potatoes. Heat a medium sauce pan, add the butter and let it brown slightly. Add the potatoes and sauté for deep brown color on some sides of the potato chunks. Add lemon juice and fruit juice to cover potatoes. Lower heat and simmer until potatoes are cooked. Remove potatoes from juice in pot and put them into a serving bowl. Add sugar to the juice in the sauce pan, increase the heat and reduce mixture until a sugar syrup forms. You may add more sugar or juice if you want to at this point. Once syrup is somewhat thick, pour it over potatoes and serve immediately.